A woman who claims that David Beckham and his wife stole her egg to create their 10-year-old daughter and showed up at her school to pick up the child while claiming to be her mother is before the court for stalking the celebrity and his family.
The woman, whose name is Sharon Bell, is facing criminal charges as she appeared in court on Friday in England.
The court was told that the woman’s actions caused the former Manchester United footballer to become “frightened” for the safety of his daughter and other family members as the woman somehow found out where his daughter Harper was attending school and turned up claiming she was the child’s mother.
A prosecutor in the case, Arizuna Asante, told the court that Bell, 58, has claimed that she and Beckham, 47, were in a relationship and that the footballer and his wife Victoria stole her eggs to create 10-year-old Harper who is legally her child.
The court heard how she is also under the delusional belief that she was in a relationship with the former Manchester United and England footballer.
The Westminster Magistrates’ Court was told that Bell is a super stalker who had sent letters to the footballer’s two residences in London in the last year, also tried to visit the addresses based in Oxford and London around July and September last year.
She went further to show up at the child’s school, claiming that she was Harper’s mother around the same time Victoria also went to pick up her daughter, leading to her being arrested and charged for stalking.
The incident left the footballer shaken, the prosecutor said.
“[He] felt threatened, he felt frightened for the safety of his family, and he believed this behaviour was targeted and intimidating,” Asante said.
“He says he does not know the defendant and she is not the mother of his children,” he said.
Bell, at a previous hearing, had pleaded not guilty to stalking, and her trial has been set for July 12.
She did not appear in court as she was in the hospital on a “5150” hold, Sky News reported, but she was represented by attorney Lisa Wilson who wants the Beckhams to appear in court to testify.
The attorney hinted that the Beckhams could be made to testify as witnesses if her client is determined by the court to not be insane. It would be interesting as the Beckhams would have to be questioned about the woman’s claim that Harper is her biological child as the attorneys hint that Victoria “conspired with David Beckham to steal the eggs of Sharon Bell.”
Meanwhile, District Judge Michael Snow referred to the woman’s claim as “absolutely bizarre.” Allowing the defense attorney to put the Beckhams on the stand would “further harassment of the Beckham family.”
“There is a risk of the family suffering further harassment, alarm or distress because of delusional allegations being put to them.” Instead, statements from the Beckhams will be read, and they are not physically required to take the stand.
The judge granted a civil interim stalking protection order against Bell until the case came to an end.
